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10-1: Jail uniform proposal DOA

JOSEPH PRICE, jprice3@baxterbulletin.com
2:47 a.m. CDT August 6, 2014

Baxter County Detention Center inmate Mason Grant waves to a passing motorist on Tuesday while working on County Road 25 with a jail maintenance crew. A proposed ordinance to change prison uniforms from black and white stripes to green scrubs was voted down Tuesday evening.
(Photo:
Kevin Pieper/The Baxter Bulletin
)

By a 10-1 vote, the Baxter County Quorum Court killed a proposal to change prisoner uniforms at the Baxter County jail from black-and-white stripes to green scrubs Tuesday night. An animal control measure, however, received a lifeline.

Quorum court member Gary Tennison, the measure's architect, cast the only "yes" vote when it came down to its final vote.

The rules were suspended after the ordinance, in its entirety, received a first reading by Baxter County Clerk Canda Reese. Immediately after the reading, Justice of the Peace Leon Alexander called for the suspension of the rules to have it read again, with the quorum court voting yes, except for Tennison.

JP William Lucas, along with Tennison, voted against a third reading of the ordinance, though he did vote against the passing of the ordinance itself.

"I think it's ridiculous," said Mountain Home resident Art Garzonio. "When I see somebody in a striped uniform, I know immediately who he is, what he is and I know who to call."

Despite the attention the proposed ordinance had generated, Garzonio was the only member of the public to speak.

"I got a call from a doctor that said he spent 12 years in college to wear them green scrubs, and no damn felon is going to wear them," JP Lucille Soltysik said. Applause greeted the statement.

The proposal generated a storm on social media, with hundreds of comments not only from Baxter County residents, but also from people around the state and country.

"And Jesus said, 'What you do unto the least of thee, you do unto me,' " Tennison said, as Reese announced the death of the ordinance upon its third reading. Tennison said that verse came to mind after a visit to the jail.

The ordinance referred to the black-and-white striped uniforms currently worn by inmates at the jail as "dehumanizing." Tennison said he felt inmates were humiliated by them and that this had a negative affect on their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. He cited the Standford Prison Experiment, as well as the United Nations' Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

"It's a sad reflection people care more about animals than human beings," Tennison said after the meeting.

Sheriff John Montgomery had emphasized the uniforms were both a safety measure and cost effective. He emphasized that inmates at the jail were treated humanely and that the facility met jail standards.

Tennison, who lost a primary election in May, will attend his last quorum court meeting in December.

Animal control

The quorum court approved the appropriation of money from the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program to the animal control fund by a vote of 11-0. This authorizes the county treasurer to transfer $15,000 in PILT funds from road and bridge revenue to Baxter County Animal Control.

"You refer to Baxter County Shelter as animal control, when in affect you are a holding facility," Humane Society of North Central Arkansas President Barbara Chambers told quorum court members. "The Humane Society has a certified animal control officer, and you don't have an officer nor animal control."

According to County Judge Mickey Pendergrass, if the expectations are met from the voluntary tax, one of the goals is to hire a certified animal control officer for the county. He emphasized all the money from the voluntary tax must be spent only on animal control.

The money was split from $30,000 in PILT funds; the other $15,000 will go to the Household Hazardous Waste budget.

PILT are federal payments to local governments that help offset losses in property taxes due to nontaxable federal lands within their boundaries. The law recognizes the inability of local governments to collect property taxes on federally-owned land can create a financial impact.

This transfer aims to keep animal control afloat until October, when the county will know how much money will come in from the voluntary tax that's included on the county's property tax forms. Whereas the county originally estimated the voluntary tax introduced last year could possibly bring in $100,000 annually, to date, it has brought in less than $3,000.

In other business

• An ordinance appropriating funds into the county assessor's 2014 budget passed 11-0

• An ordinance appropriating fees and reimbursements received in June to the 2014 budget of the sheriff's department passed 10-1, with Tennison being the lone "no" vote

• An ordinance appropriating a worker's compensation refund in the amount of $13,516 to the 2014 budget for buildings and grounds passed 11-0

• An ordinance re-appropriating funds in the 2014 public defender budget passed 11-0

• A resolution confirming the reappointment by the county judge of members to the Norfork Fire Protection District Board of Commissioners

• A resolution expressing support for the application for an automated records system grant by the Baxter County and Circuit Clerk, as the ex-officio recorder passed 11-0.